


And Then Silence

by azizuh



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Could be read as romantic, Nightmares, post-200
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-14 04:38:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7153898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azizuh/pseuds/azizuh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The shrill shrieking of a cell phone is, as is so often the case, the guilty party in the waking of one Jennifer Jareau.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Then Silence

      _A body. Blood runs down the side of her face, collecting in a pool that grows with every drop. Blue eyes staring into the distance, glazed and unblinking. She’s dreadfully still; her chest neither rises nor falls. There’s no pulse to be found at her wrist, or her neck, or anywhere else. She’s cold, with the exception of the warm blood still pouring from a number of open wounds. Two hands, a steady beat, and a waterfall of prayers and curses, mixing and intertwining until it’s nearly impossible to tell one from the other. A sickening realization as the minutes pass, a storm of guilt and disbelief, scattered showers of anger and regret. Screams, and then silence. Just like that, she’s gone._

     The shrill shrieking of a cell phone is, as is so often the case, the guilty party in the waking of one Jennifer Jareau. She has half a mind to turn the wretched thing off and return to her first pleasant dream in quite some time, but the second she realizes who’s calling her at half past midnight, that idea vanishes into thin air.

     “Emily?’ she answers. She can hear her friend’s shaky breathing on the other end, and despite knowing exactly what this was about, she can’t help but be concerned; after all, very few things have ever elicited that sort of reaction from her.

     “JJ.” An ocean away, Emily Prentiss is in her own bed, hand resting on the gun stashed under her pillow. She’s coated in sweat, and her heart feels like it’s about to leap from her throat. “JJ, you’re okay.” It’s half question, half statement.

     “Yeah, Em,” JJ reassures her, “I’m okay.”

     “I- I had another nightmare. We didn’t get there soon enough, Jayj. We were too late.”

     “I thought I was the one that was supposed to be having nightmares, not you,” she teased in an attempt to bring some levity to the conversation. In truth, she’d been having the same nightmare. She could always hear them just outside the door, but could never hold on long enough to see them come inside. That, however, was something she would never tell Emily.

     They fell into a comfortable silence, each simply listening to the other breathing, which was comforting to both. Seconds ticked by, and JJ had nearly nodded off when Emily finally spoke.

     “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t even have called. I just needed to know that you were okay. What time is it over there, anyway? You should be asleep right now.”

     “Emily, it’s not even one o’clock yet, it’s okay.” There's a slight pause before Emily responds.

     “I miss you.”

     “I know. I miss you too.”

     A click, and then silence.


End file.
